BY BRIGHT JACOBS
As efforts aimed at addressing violence, injustice and agitations of members of the Indigenous People of Biafra in Anamba State continue, the Governor of the state, Chukwuma Charles Soludo, has inaugurated a 15-member Truth, Justice and Peace Commission.
According to a statement by the Secretary to the Anambra State Government, Solo Chukwulobelu, the Commission would be headed by human rights activist, Chidi Odinkalu, with wife of late Biafra warlord, Bianca Ojukwu, serving as its secretary…
The Truth Commission will seek a ‘’restorative justice approach for truth-telling or real facts, for the healing of the victims of violence in the state, accounting for the responsibility and accountability of the actors, conditional mercy for the repentant perpetrators, restitution for certain losses and rehabilitation of the perpetrators, for the overall aim for the restoration of peace and justice as well as the promotion of development in the state, and the region/Nigeria”.
Other members of the committee are Charles Oputa, aka Charley Boy, songstress, Onyeka Onwenu, Jerome Madueke, Okechukwu Obi-Okoye, Joe Nwaogu, Udenta Udenta, Uju Agomoh, John Otu, Ngozi Odumuko, joe Abah, Chukwuma Okpalaezeukwu, Sam Egwuatu, and Joseph Ikechukwu.
The members of the committee were also mandated to identify the remote and immediate causes of the agitations, restiveness, violence, and armed struggle in the South-East since 1999, and document victims/circumstances of death, brutality and incarceration.
Also, they would identify stakeholders and groups who have played critical roles in the agitation and conflicts, their roles, capabilities and demands, as well as address any other issue(s) that may be germane to unraveling the extent of the crisis and charting the roadmap for the future.
They are expected to make recommendations for “sustainable peace and security in Anambra State”, and conclude their work not later than 6 months from its inauguration.
